Thunder Bay Fire Chief Greg Hankkio is ready to present the financial figures to council in January.

In a year-end interview with Acadia News, the chief says the proposed budget does reflect suggested changes in the Strategic Master Fire Plan, including staffing reductions that were brought before council in December 2020.

“One of the biggest changes we made to fire service in 2020 was about finding efficiencies through the plan,” noted Hankkio. “We introduced an implementation plan to council that in essence will save just over $3 million over the course of three years and just over $1.1 million thereafter. We’ve implemented those changes, they’re working well and they have not had a reduction in the level of service to the citizens of Thunder Bay.”

When it comes to the budget, Hankkio notes there are wage increases in it that are contractually obligated thanks to an agreement with the Thunder Bay Professional Firefighters Association (IAFF Local 193).

One trend that rose in 2021 was the number of structural fires that Thunder Bay fire crews have responded to.

Hankkio discussed the trend, “Without having any anecdotal evidence, we could probably connect a lot of that to the fact that there may just be more people at home at any given time than in the workplace, so we may be looking at a bit of an anomaly there.”

It’s anticipated that the number of structural fires will be up over 300 by the end of 2021.